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Rediff.com  » News » India has TOO MUCH democracy: Farooq Abdullah
This article was first published 13 years ago

India has TOO MUCH democracy: Farooq Abdullah

Last updated on: December 3, 2011 22:35 IST

Image: Farooq Abdullah

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the time has come for India to have a "controlled democracy" on the lines of Malaysia to get quicker results of long-pending issues.

Speaking on possible solutions for Kashmir issue, Abdullah said both India and Pakistan need to find a solution which is acceptable for the majority of Indians, majority of Pakistanis and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

'Our democracy destroys ourselves'

Image: An anti-government protest in Kashmir

Abdullah, the Union minister for new and renewable energy, said, "Our democracy is so much that it destroys ourselves".

"The time has come that India has controlled democracy like Malaysia has. The solutions will be quicker. These are things we must start thinking about and I think if we don't do that, we will never find solutions," Abdullah said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi.

'India and Pakistan should accept ground realities'

Image: National flags of India and Pakistan

Abdullah said India and Pakistan should accept ground realities that neither the Indian side of Kashmir could go to Pakistan nor Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would come to India.

He said borders could be opened, but not if guns and grenades were blazing.

Abdullah said Kashmir became part of India by its own will as they accepted Mahatma Gandhi's India -- where all Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs had the equal right to vote.